RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond Police Department arrested four men on Thursday in connection to the latest incident in which a police officer was shot in Virginia.
Richmond Police officers arrived in the 3100 block of Decatur Street on the night of Wednesday, Dec. 6 to try to detain four wanted men found in a parked vehicle. However, during the encounter, a man in the car’s passenger seat fired a gun at one of the officers.
The officer then responded with gunfire and hit the suspect. According to Richmond Police, the suspect managed to get away despite having been shot. Meanwhile, the three remaining suspects were taken into custody and four firearms were found at the scene.
On the morning of Thursday, Dec. 7, an 18-year-old with a gunshot wound arrived at a local hospital and was identified as the fourth remaining suspect. He was treated and then arrested.
The four suspects arrested and charged in connection to the Dec. 6 shooting are:
- Devone Brown, 18, of Richmond: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Corey Hewitt, 21, of Chesterfield County: Possession of a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm with an extended magazine
- Kemonte Mayo, 18, of Henrico County: Outstanding Henrico County arrest warrants for strangulation, simple assault, and destruction of property
- Calique Harris, 18, of Richmond: Attempted murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection to the shooting
Dana Schrad, the executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said there has been an uptick in attacks on law enforcement officers.
“We’ve had several [officers shot] in the Richmond central area,” Schrad said. “We’ve had an additional officer severely injured out in Roanoke recently.”
Even though in this case, the suspect’s gunfire missed the officer, Schrad said first responders can’t dodge every bullet — and the effects of a violent shooting on one’s mental state can last longer than a gunshot wound.
“One of the things that often happens is we hear a report that the officer is in stable condition and people go, ‘Oh, good, he’s fine,’ or ‘she’s fine!’ Schrad said. “When, in fact, there is a lot of trauma associated with any kind of officer injury, whether it’s trauma to the officer, to the family, to the officer’s fellow officers and to the agency as a whole.”
In accordance with the Richmond Police Department’s policy, the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave.
This incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call Major Crimes Detective M. Young of Richmond Police at 804-646-3926.
